The US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs and chief nuclear negotiator, Wendy R. Sherman, told the Senate on Thursday that Israel’s security remains a “paramount concern” as the international community tests Iran’s intentions regarding its nuclear program. She asked Congress to give the administration more time to pursue the diplomatic track with the Islamic Republic before further decisions on sanctions are made.
“It will be the Iranian government’s actions in the months ahead that will be a key factor in determining whether we decide the sanctions should remain in place, or whether we can begin to relieve some sanction pressure as Iran addresses our concern,” Sherman told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Israel is extremely concerned that Iran is stringing the West along with false offers to come clean about its nuclear program in order to buy time to reach a point where it can develop an atomic weapon.
The committee’s hearing on reversing the Iranian nuclear program, chaired by Senator Robert Menendez, took place during the shutdown of the US federal government. America’s ability to enforce sanctions “is being hampered significantly by the shutdown,” warned Sherman, citing the emptying of government offices overseeing adherence to sanctions on Iran. Sherman and Democratic members of the committee repeatedly referred to the complications imposed by the shutdown.
President Hassan Rouhani says he has a mandate to pursue an agreement that satisfies the international community’s concerns over Iran’s nuclear program, said Sherman, and promised that the US is “prepared to test that proposition in a serious way. “
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